The Bottle Says: Not a lot actually

Rortise says: The Rochefort 10 is a Trappiste beer brewed by monks in Belgium. It is the strongest trappiste beer available and as such was a must to review. Although people say that it shouldn't be included as tramp juice because of the cost, I believe it should due to the high alcohol percentage. On with the review, however. On first appearance you would be forgiven for thinking that the beer is over 50 years old, with the retro label font and styling of the brown bottle you would certainly be forgiven for thinking so. The fact that the label doesn't try to sell the beer is another plus, as obviously the monks think that it can sell itself. I was more than a tad disappointed that the bottle provided for review was a 33cl but, at a whopping 11.3% ABV I wasn't going to argue.

The retro labelling is evident from the above photo as is the alcohol content and batch number. It's always good to see a batch number as it's another indicator to the quality of the finished product. Upon opening the bottle cap did not deform which was another factor which suggested quality. If the word "Industrial" could be applied to a beer then this is that beer. The smell of the beer was not particularly pleasent, a kind of sickly syrupy smell, but it did smell better than many other brands of tramp juice. First taste was indeed an experience. Although it was a very syrupy beer, it did slip down surprisingly well but was very heavy on the stomach afterwards. When poured it is traditionally poured with excessive amounts of head, as I found out on a visit to Belgium, this strangely does help due to the general thickness of the beer in question. After one bottle I was feeling tipsy and after two I was drunk. The hangover was almost non-existent, which is bound to be a bonus in some quarters.

In Conclusion: The Rochefort 10 was pleasing on many fronts, including the ability to get drunk on two bottles, but ultimately with an average price of £2.50 it proved to be a small let down. It is a good beer to finish the night on as it will, quite simply, knock you out-it certainly did to me anyways! It is what i would call a celebrity beer-one which is a talking point at partys wherever you go. Traditional tramp juices taste weak in comparision so as such this is a must buy, if only you sample it once. Due to the high price, lack of availability and lack of English tramps drinking it I am forced to award the Rochefort 10 a miserable 5/10.

Links: Reviews of Rochefort over at Beeradvocate.
           The official website.